1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a medical treatment apparatus; and, more particularly, to a medical treatment apparatus using laser beams, which is used for treating arthritis, myositis, chronic pains and so on.
2. Description of Related Art
Diseases such as arthritis and myositis may be treated or relieved by laser beams. Specifically, when laser beams are irradiated onto an affected area, energy is transferred to mitochondria, and cells are smoothly activated and restored. This may speed up metabolism. Furthermore, blood vessels at the laser-beam-irradiated area are expanded, and blood circulation is promoted. Accordingly, the increase of white blood cells is accompanied. As a result, a sterilizing action for the affected area is activated to promote the infection treatment.
As an example of a conventional medical treatment apparatus using laser beams, Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 10-2009-0117544 discloses an arthritis treatment apparatus. Referring to FIG. 1, the arthritis treatment apparatus includes a body 10, an ultrasonic generator 20, a plurality of laser diodes 30, and a handle 40. The ultrasonic generator 20 is provided in the body 10 and serves to generate ultrasonic waves toward the center under the body 10. The plurality of laser diodes 30 are installed at even intervals along the outer circumference of a lower portion of the body 10, and emits laser beams at a constant angle toward the inside of the lower portion of the body. The laser beams are focused on one point on the center line of the ultrasonic waves generated from the ultrasonic generator. The handle 40 is provided at one side of the body 10, and includes a switch for switching the operations of the ultrasonic generator and the laser diodes.
The above-described arthritis treatment apparatus is characterized in that an affected area is minutely vibrated by ultrasonic waves to promote the cartilage reconstruction of a joint, and laser beams are simultaneously used to perform the above-described infection treatment.
However, the body 10 should be closely attached to an affected area, in order to normally apply ultrasonic waves to the affected area. Therefore, the arthritis treatment apparatus may cause an additional pain for a patient having a severe arthritis pain. Furthermore, the arthritis treatment apparatus has a structure in which the focus of laser beams is fixed. Therefore, in order to move the focus, the arthritis treatment apparatus should be moved in a state in which the body is closely attached to an affected area as described above. Furthermore, a concave portion 11 of the body 10 from which laser beams and ultrasonic waves are outputted has a hemispheric shape which reflects the joint portions of a human body, in particular, a knee and an elbow. Therefore, the movement of the body is further limited.
Furthermore, since laser beams irradiated from the arthritis treatment apparatus have the same intensity (power), they may have an undesirable effect upon the surroundings of a core area which is to be treated.